Collapsable beverage holders of various types are well known in the art.
One such device is covered by U.S. Pat. No. 2,904,299 issued to Herman L. Dalton. That invention consists of an article holder which is secured to an automobile panel via a clip-means and the holder per se is engaged for use and disengaged for non-use by means of a ball and detent trunnion. This device requires the tightening of a set screw and the engagement of locking balls in accommodating recesses to assure an horizontal support which will sustain the weight of the article to be placed therein. Even in its disengaged or stored position this device is bulky.
By contrast, in the instant device, there is no need to maintain the holder in position by means of a set screw or locking balls. This invention is characterized by a minimum of only two moving parts and, when not in use, it can be ingeniously stored by simply pivoting the beverage holder on its pin so that it lies flat against the accomodating wall-plate.
A second type of beverage holder is described in U.S. Pat. No. 1,079,192 issued to Charles N. Sowden. This device provides a collapsable support for a thermos bottle and utilizes a pivot pin means to secure the retainer or holder to a wall-plate; however, it suffers from several drawbacks. Firstly, the device requires both a holder on which the thermos bottle can be rested and a retaining ring located above the holder for the purpose of steadying and maintaining the thermos bottle in position on said holder. In addition, this device requires the use of springs which resist the horizontal movement of the said holder and said retaining ring. As a result, the removal of the thermos bottle from the seat or holder results in an automatic upward movement of the holder so that it lies flat against the face of the plate. In other words, the holder cannot be locked or maintained in a receiving or holding position. Also, in this device, the seat or holder has a very modest rim which can hardly serve as an effective means for holding the thermos bottle in place; therefore, the retaining ring is needed to provide the steadying support for the said bottle.
By contrast to the foregoing, applicant's invention consists of a holder which requires no retaining ring and no springs. It is capable of maintaining the beverage container in an upright position solely by means of the cylindrical wall which envelops a portion of said container.
Most importantly, the instant device is maintained in position by a pivot-and-lock means which is not described in the prior art. The instant holder is maintained in a receiving position and in a non-use position solely by virtue of a pivot means and an aperture in the holder-support which slides down over said pivot. This mode of operation will be described more thoroughly in the description which follows.